Thursday....

Susannahs friend came over today and they wanted to go to Southgate Mall to use up some Christmas giftcards...so we headed over there.  Sam and Abby had some cards to use up too, so we headed to Coles and Sam bought a little notebook...Abby bought a few things in Dollarama while we were in there stocking up on paper plates and hats etc for New Years Eve....

Abby and I had cinnamon swirls from cinnabon with tea and Sam had something from Tacotime...

Wednesday tag....

1. Share something you loved about your Christmas Day.

Our dinner - the food was perfect, the company was FABULOUS - pulling crackers was fun - sharing the jokes, trying on the pirate eye patch and scaring Susie - reminding her of the guy on the LRT!!  hahaha!  Sam going back to the oven tray to steal the last of the stuffing!!  Everyone raving about the swede!!

2. You get to put five items in a time capsule to be opened in 100 years, what items would you choose and why?

An Iphone fully loaded with apps, and pictures, music etc etc etc.  An art journal/ junque journal written in with lots of information, tickets, scraps, newspaper clippings etc etc, A grocery shopping receipt showing how much an average family spends a week on groceries, The Harry Potter books,  Some seeds from some of my favourite wild flowers.  

3. What do you like on a cracker?

Various cheeses...Boursin, cottage cheese, Philly, cheese and pickle, pate

4. Do you make resolutions at the start of a new year? 

Not really.  I pick a 'word of the year' and I then focus on that word for the year....that tends to work out really well each year.  I also have goals for the upcoming year but I don't plan on starting them on January 1st 

5. What's a song or song lyric you'll associate with 2011?

First half would be Adele's album 21, and the second half would be Kelly Clarkson.  Adele reminds me of my trip to Canmore with Susannah as we listened to it all the way there once we couldn't get Now Radio any more....and then Kelly Clarksons entire cd is like my new anthem hahaha :)  

6. How will you ring in the new year?

I have plans with friends :)

7. What is something you look forward to in 2012?

So many things :)

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Happy New year everyone xxx

Christmas Cracker!!!

Here is my gorgeous cousin Lynn after her Extreme Makeover on British Televisions show 'This Morning'!!  She was made over into one of their Christmas Crackers, and given Botox and dental work amongst hair and make up and clothing etc etc....and she looks amazing :)  Just totally gorgeous :)  

She is getting them to send me a dvd of the shows as I can't watch online from outside of the UK - how lovely are they to do that for me??  :)  and thank you Lynn xxx I can't wait to show you off to everyone xxx

Tuesday happenings....

I had planned to have a quiet day at home on my own yesterday, as the kids were heading off to their Dads for his version of 'Christmas'...however, I got a message from my Fabulous friend Ki asking me if I'd like to join her on a  trip to the Antiques Mall in Old Strathcona.....well, I could hardly let her go there alone now COULD I?????  lol!!  I mean, it's such an EFFORT to go there hahahaha, but one must force oneself for ones friends ;)  

So I got dressed and rushed off to Ki's and met her and her gorgeous Daughter who were already sat in their car waiting for me (shockingly as Ki is normally late for everything lol) and off we went, making a detour to Second Cup for Holiday London Fogs on the way - YUM!!!  

Once at the Antiques Mall, we spent a lovely couple of hours strolling round looking at everything. I didn't find much but love looking - I picked up a fabulous keyring with a mini on it that had a union jack roof - Laurence loved it :)  and some Lego wheels for Sam which he had asked me to look for for him :)  

Couldn't resist snapping a picture of the magazine above - now thats MY kind of romance hahaha ;)  

I thought it was so funny.....what a title for a 'romance' hahaha  :)  

:)

Wednesday ramblings...

D is sick.....he went to the Doctors today...I told him that I thought it was funny for guy to go to the Docs without a woman to drag him there...that I'm used to guys being on their death beds or having their third legs falling off before they'll go ;)  He said I was easily impressed ;)

He has chronic sinusitis :(  so he's feeling pretty crap :(  I entertained him while he was waiting for the Doc...Poor thing - finally gets time off and he's sick.  Totally sucks for him :(

After the movie today we went to Chapters...we have a ton of $5 off cards to use...so Sam and Abby got a little toy each which ended up costing them like $2 each!!  I got an art book I've wanted for a while and some Moleskines.

Home for a little while and the kids watched a movie...I decorated one of my moleskines and left it by the fire to dry, then headed out to meet Niki for coffee.  The plan was that we were going to have a coffee and then go to Goodwill to look round.  We got chatting though, and then Susie texted me to ask what time I'd be home - I looked at the time and it was 9pm!  3 hours had FLOWN by and we were still chatting!!!  Hahahahaha!!!  So needless to say we hadn't made it to Goodwill!!  :)  So we said goodbye, I headed to the gas station to fill up and then headed home.

My sweet girly....

She has already 'killed' her raccoon that she got for Christmas :)  

my clever Rosie Posie!!

x

An afternoon at the movies.

Today we planned to spend the day at home, but Susannah's friend Cassie called and invited her to the movies, and as I was taking laurence to town anyway, I thought I may as well drive the girls in - and then take Sam and Abby to see their move - but it turned out that Arthur had finished at the theatre.  Then we saw that the other movie Abby had wanted to see, Hugo, was on at the same time as the girls movie (New Years Eve), so we arranged to go at the same time.

We dropped Laurence off and then headed to the theatre.  The girls went off into the mall and we left them to their own thing, and we went off into the movie theatre as our movie started first.

Hugo was a 3d movie, but this time Sam and Abby both LOVED it and wore their glasses for it - no headaches or complaining!  The movie was AMAZING!  Beautifully made from beginning to end!  Even Abigail said she was crying in places!  It is such a beautiful and touching story!  Amazing to watch - the scenery and characters are so vivid and detailed...such little touches and the 3d effects just make you feel like you are right there in the train station among all the people..so different to watching an animation in 3d!!  Just a beautiful movie!  One of my new favourites!!

We went to see The Muppets with Brandy and although this is VERY different, I just know she will love it....can't wait to hear what she thinks of it!!

A night at the theatre....

Last night I took the children to the theatre to see some friends of ours perform in The Wizard of Oz.  Abigail was thrilled to see her friend N and her Mom on stage :)  

It was a wonderful show - far better than the traveling Broadway performance we saw at the Jubilee! 

It was funny taking Sam to the theatre...taking Abby is always interesting - now I know she has tourettes it is easy to be understanding and just interesting to see how she reacts in such situations, but watching Sam  and seeing him, well it is fascinating too.  Laurence was just giggling silently and shaking his head.    Of course, now we know about Abigails Tourettes and the issues that go with it - ADHD and OCD and ODD etc etc...It is so much easier to be more understanding with Sam and find ways to help him cope rather than see it is 'bad behaviour'....he isn't being naughty - he just isn't capable or reacting in situations the way many of us can.  So it was funny...and lovely, and I sat and held his hand and just enjoyed his excitement and enjoyed the fact that people sat around him giggled a bit when he spoke a bit too loud....and I didn't worry too much when he just couldn't sit still :)  He's a darling :)  

It was a lovely evening.  We got home VERY late and were all soooo tired!  And HUNGRY!!!  So we all had something to eat and collapsed into bed around midnight!  

I'm awake again - woke up around 4am....pottered about went downstairs and made a coffee and checked on the Triops....now I'm back in bed and it's 6:45....have a feeling it's going to be a very lazy day of movies and game playing.  And a nap :)

todays snapshots :)

Special moments xxx

Such a happy girl - always :)  

I swear all my Susie does is smile and sing :) 

xxx

(oh, and read - so nice to be able to buy her lots of books this year and know she will LOVE them)

Lots of hugs this afternoon to say thank you for gifts from brothers and sisters.  And a lovely big hug from Laurence tonight to say thank you for everything I did today xxx

Rosie had her own stocking of course, but it was impossible to get a good picture of her...it was around this time this morning that I was texting D and was telling him how impossible it is to get a dog to sit still with a santa hat on for a picture :)  

There was no snow here this Christmas Day, BUT, it did RAIN!!!  Hahahaha  +8c this evening and it RAINED!!!  How CRAZY is that?????  We had the heating off all day and the windows open and I was complaining that I was hot all day!  

Didn't seem right without snow though, So I'm glad I have plenty of beautiful snow flakes around my house to enjoy:

I am so in awe of my children and the incredible people they are becoming!!  

Love them so much.  

I am so amazingly lucky to get to spend days like today like them - but not just days like today - EVERY day with them.  

It's exhausting and nerve-wracking at times, but I wouldn't miss a moment for the world.

Kissmas Day :)

I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas Day!!

Mine has been FAB-U-LOUS :)

Started with a special hello from D wishing me a Merry Christmas  :) Which was absolutely the bestest thing to know he thought to say hi despite how busy he is today!!  We chatted yesterday and I assumed we were not going to today...both being busy with our kids...but I guess we did.   :)

Some snapshots from our day - the rest are on Facebook :)  

The ice cube from my glass:

Susannah in the crazy glasses:

Our amazing dinner was sooooo INCREDIBLY good!!  I mixed in a tablespoon of honey with the swede and MMmmmmmm AMAZING - everyone said it was the best, creamiest ever!!!  Roast parsnips, roasted brussel sprouts!!  Roast potatoes, turkey breast with stuffing - the kids FAVOURITE and their choice - Sam even went back to the tray to get the last piece!!!  And yorkshire puddings - Sam had FOUR!!  :)

Sam in the crazy glasses:

I had some amazing gifts from the children - and from my lovely friends!  Wow I am blown away by the  the things they chose for me.  And all the texts and FB messages I got yesterday and today...and the cards....I have felt so loved and so blessed by all my friends :)

And Jason - thank you as always for the laughs xxx

Today our neighbours came over with a gift for us and a card with a family picture - their two little ones are getting so big so fast!  Can't wait to see them when they come over this week again.  

It really has been such a lovely Christmas  

The children are so much fun and so happy today....Laurence was master of ceremonies for giving out the gifts and did a great job....I had forgotten so many of the gifts I had wrapped up - I've been buying a few a month and so it was funny seeing gifts I had forgotten about.

I am feeling all blissed out :)  

Totally and utterly.

Snapshots from our day.....

Christmas Eve...

Tonight we took a drive along Candy Cane Lane, then stopped for hot chocolates and then drove to Maisies Christmas House and had a walk around to enjoy the lights and look in all the windows.  Wow it's quite impressive....I think....although maybe bordering on 'obsessive'???  I know it's for charity and that's a wonderful thing...and it is in memory of his Mother...but a small part of me...as I looked in the windows...couldn't help thinking 'this is a little odd'....

My girly :)

Rosie came running in this morning with her ball, all ready to play!  She seemed to know the weather was gorgeous and warm and she was all ready to get out and enjoy it :) 

+6c on Christmas Eve!!  Gorgeous!!

:)